A blog about American History, and the development of a great Nation

The last Union veteran, Albert Woolson died on August 2, 1956. He was 106 years old. This fact has always struck me as to how close in time we still are to the Civil War, as I was born just a few months thereafter. Woolson was 109 years old. He joined the first Minnesota Heavy Artillery on October 10, 1864 as a drummer boy. He was mustered out on September 7, 1865. His unit never saw combat. The Union Veteran’s Association, the Grand Army of the Republic, passed into history upon his death, as he was the last member.